EN 16190:2018
(Main)Soil, treated biowaste and sludge - Determination of dioxins and furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls by gas chromatography with high resolution mass selective detection (HR GC-MS)
General Information
- Abstract
This draft European Standard specifies a method for quantitative determination of 17 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in sludge, treated biowaste and soil using liquid column chromatographic clean-up methods and GC/HRMS.
The analytes to be determined with this European Standard are listed in Table 1.
(...)
The limit of detection depends on the kind of sample, the congener, the equipment used and the quality of chemicals used for extraction and clean-up. Under the conditions specified in this European Standard, limits of detection better than 1 ng/kg (expressed as dry matter) can be achieved.
This method is "performance based". It is allowed to modify the method if all performance criteria given in this method are met.
NOTE In principle this method can also be applied for sediments, mineral wastes and for vegetation. It is the responsibility of the user of this European Standard to validate the application for these matrices. For measurement in complex matrices like fly ashes adsorbed on vegetation it can be necessary to further improve the clean-up. This can also apply to sediments and mineral wastes.
- Status
- Published
- Publication Date
- 18-Dec-2018
- Withdrawal Date
- 29-Jun-2019
- Technical Committee
- CEN/TC 444 - Environmental characterization
- Drafting Committee
- CEN/TC 444/WG 2 - Organic analysis
- Current Stage
- 9093 - Decision to confirm - Review Enquiry
- Start Date
- 16-May-2025
- Completion Date
- 17-Sep-2026
Overview
EN 16190:2018 (CEN) specifies a validated, performance‑based laboratory method for the quantitative determination of 17 2,3,7,8‑chlorine substituted polychlorinated dibenzo‑p‑dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin‑like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil, treated biowaste and sludge. The method uses liquid column chromatographic clean‑up procedures followed by gas chromatography with high‑resolution mass selective detection (HR GC‑MS / GC‑HRMS). Under the standard’s specified conditions, detection limits better than 1 ng/kg (dry matter) are achievable. EN 16190:2018 is performance‑based, allowing method modifications provided all performance criteria are met.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Target analytes: 17 2,3,7,8‑substituted PCDD/PCDF congeners and dioxin‑like PCB congeners (see standard table of analytes).
- Sample matrices: validated for sludge, treated biowaste and soil; can be extended to sediments, mineral wastes and vegetation after in‑house validation.
- Sample prep: sample storage and pretreatment, extraction and multi‑step clean‑up (examples include gel permeation chromatography, multilayer columns, activated carbon, aluminium oxide, sulphuric acid treatment).
- Analysis: HR GC/HRMS operation, identification and quantification criteria, calibration for congeners and homologue groups, calculation of toxic equivalents (WHO‑TEQ).
- Performance: method is performance‑based - labs may adapt steps if recovery, precision and detection criteria in the standard are satisfied.
- Quality & safety: use of 13C‑labelled internal and recovery standards, requirement for trained staff and laboratory safety practices.
- Documentation: precision data, reporting formats and calculation procedures (limits of detection/quantification, recovery rates, TEQ calculation) are provided.
Practical applications and users
EN 16190:2018 is intended for:
- Environmental and commercial analytical laboratories performing dioxin, furan and dioxin‑like PCB analysis in soils, biosolids and biowaste.
- Regulatory authorities and environmental monitoring programs assessing contamination of sludge, treated biowaste and soil.
- Waste management, remediation and reuse decision‑making where accurate PCDD/PCDF and dioxin‑like PCB data (WHO‑TEQ) are required.
- Research institutions studying environmental fate, emission sources or remediation efficacy of persistent organic pollutants.
Benefits include reproducible HR GC‑MS measurement, trace‑level detection (sub‑ng/kg in favorable conditions), and harmonized reporting for regulatory compliance and risk assessment.
Related standards
- EN 15934 (calculation of dry matter fraction) and other CEN/ISO methods for sample handling and validation are commonly used alongside EN 16190:2018.
Relations
- Effective Date
- 22-Mar-2017
- Effective Date
- 12-Feb-2026
- Effective Date
- 28-Jan-2026
- Effective Date
- 28-Jan-2026
- Effective Date
- 28-Jan-2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
EN 16190:2018 is a standard published by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). Its full title is "Soil, treated biowaste and sludge - Determination of dioxins and furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls by gas chromatography with high resolution mass selective detection (HR GC-MS)". This standard covers: This draft European Standard specifies a method for quantitative determination of 17 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in sludge, treated biowaste and soil using liquid column chromatographic clean-up methods and GC/HRMS. The analytes to be determined with this European Standard are listed in Table 1. (...) The limit of detection depends on the kind of sample, the congener, the equipment used and the quality of chemicals used for extraction and clean-up. Under the conditions specified in this European Standard, limits of detection better than 1 ng/kg (expressed as dry matter) can be achieved. This method is "performance based". It is allowed to modify the method if all performance criteria given in this method are met. NOTE In principle this method can also be applied for sediments, mineral wastes and for vegetation. It is the responsibility of the user of this European Standard to validate the application for these matrices. For measurement in complex matrices like fly ashes adsorbed on vegetation it can be necessary to further improve the clean-up. This can also apply to sediments and mineral wastes.
This draft European Standard specifies a method for quantitative determination of 17 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in sludge, treated biowaste and soil using liquid column chromatographic clean-up methods and GC/HRMS. The analytes to be determined with this European Standard are listed in Table 1. (...) The limit of detection depends on the kind of sample, the congener, the equipment used and the quality of chemicals used for extraction and clean-up. Under the conditions specified in this European Standard, limits of detection better than 1 ng/kg (expressed as dry matter) can be achieved. This method is "performance based". It is allowed to modify the method if all performance criteria given in this method are met. NOTE In principle this method can also be applied for sediments, mineral wastes and for vegetation. It is the responsibility of the user of this European Standard to validate the application for these matrices. For measurement in complex matrices like fly ashes adsorbed on vegetation it can be necessary to further improve the clean-up. This can also apply to sediments and mineral wastes.
EN 16190:2018 is classified under the following ICS (International Classification for Standards) categories: 13.030.01 - Wastes in general; 13.080.10 - Chemical characteristics of soils. The ICS classification helps identify the subject area and facilitates finding related standards.
EN 16190:2018 has the following relationships with other standards: It is inter standard links to CEN/TS 16190:2012, ISO 13914:2023, EN ISO 11465:2025, CEN/TS 17331:2019, EN 17331:2023. Understanding these relationships helps ensure you are using the most current and applicable version of the standard.
EN 16190:2018 is associated with the following European legislation: EU Directives/Regulations: 86/278/EEC; Standardization Mandates: M/330. When a standard is cited in the Official Journal of the European Union, products manufactured in conformity with it benefit from a presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of the corresponding EU directive or regulation.
EN 16190:2018 is available in PDF format for immediate download after purchase. The document can be added to your cart and obtained through the secure checkout process. Digital delivery ensures instant access to the complete standard document.
Standards Content (Sample)
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.Boden, behandelter Bioabfall und Schlamm - Bestimmung von Dioxinen und Furanen sowie Dioxin-vergleichbaren polychlorierten Biphenylen mittels Gaschromatographie und hochauflösender massenspektrometrischer Detektion (HR GC-MS)Sols, bio-déchets traités et boues - Dosage des dioxines et furanes et polychlorobiphényles de type dioxine par chromatographie en phase gazeuse avec spectrométrie de masse à haute résolution (HR CG-SM)Soil, treated biowaste and sludge - Determination of dioxins and furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls by gas chromatography with high resolution mass selective detection (HR GC-MS)71.040.50Fizikalnokemijske analitske metodePhysicochemical methods of analysis13.080.10Chemical characteristics of soils13.030.20Liquid wastes. SludgeICS:Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z:EN 16190:2018SIST EN 16190:2019en,fr,de01-marec-2019SIST EN 16190:2019SLOVENSKI
STANDARDSIST-TS CEN/TS 16190:20121DGRPHãþD
EUROPEAN STANDARD NORME EUROPÉENNE EUROPÄISCHE NORM
EN 16190
December 2018 ICS 13.030.01; 13.080.10 Supersedes CEN/TS 16190:2012
English Version
Soil, treated biowaste and sludge - Determination of dioxins and furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls by gas chromatography with high resolution mass selective detection (HR GC-MS)
Sols, bio-déchets traités et boues - Dosage des dioxines et furanes et polychlorobiphényles de type dioxine par chromatographie en phase gazeuse avec spectrométrie de masse à haute résolution (HR CG-SM)
Boden, behandelter Bioabfall und Schlamm - Bestimmung von Dioxinen und Furanen sowie Dioxin-vergleichbaren polychlorierten Biphenylen mittels Gaschromatographie und hochauflösender massenspektrometrischer Detektion (HR GC-MS) This European Standard was approved by CEN on 23 October 2018.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.
This document was corrected and reissued by the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre on 22 January 2019.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre:
Rue de la Science 23,
B-1040 Brussels © 2018 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CEN national Members. Ref. No. EN 16190:2018 E SIST EN 16190:2019
Toxic equivalency factor (TEF). 24 Annex B (informative)
Examples of extraction and clean-up methods . 26 B.1 Example A . 26 B.1.1 General . 26 B.1.2 Chemicals . 26 B.1.3 Procedure . 27 B.2 Example B: Approved clean-up methods . 32 Annex C (informative)
Examples of operation of GC/HRMS determination — Example . 34 C.1 General . 34 C.2 Gas chromatographic analysis . 34 C.3 Mass spectrometric detection . 35 Annex D (informative)
Repeatability and reproducibility data . 38 D.1 Materials used in the interlaboratory comparison study . 38 D.2 Interlaboratory comparison results . 38 D.3 Calculation of toxicity factors on the basis of interlaboratory data . 43 Bibliography . 45
IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp 3.1 internal standard 13C12-labelled 2,3,7,8-PCDD/PCDF analogue added to samples prior to extraction against which the concentrations of native PCDD and PCDF are calculated [SOURCE: ISO 18073:2004, 3.1.5] 3.2 recovery standard 13C12-labelled 2,3,7,8-chloro-substituted PCDD/PCDF, added before injection into the GC [SOURCE: ISO 18073:2004, 3.1.12] 4 Abbreviations I-TEF NATO/CCMS International toxic equivalent factor proposed by NATO-CCMS in 1988 (for detailed description, see Annex A) I-TEQ International toxic equivalent obtained by multiplying the mass determined with the corresponding I-TEF including PCDD and PCDF (for detailed description, see Annex A). Should only be used for comparison with older data PCDD/PCDF or PCDD/F Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans WHO-TEF Toxic equivalent factor proposed by WHO in 2005 (for detailed description, see Annex A) WHO-TEQ Toxic equivalent obtained by multiplying the mass determined with the corresponding WHO-TEF including PCDD, PCDF and PCB (for detailed description, see Annex D). WHO-TEQPCB, WHO-TEQPCDD/PCDF should be used to distinguish different compound classes SIST EN 16190:2019
1) Kuderna Danish is an example of a suitable product available commercially. This information is given for the convenience of users of this document and does not constitute an endorsement by CEN of this product. SIST EN 16190:2019
1,2,3,4,6,7,8-13C12-HpCDD 13C12-PCB 105 13C12-OCDD 13C12-PCB 114
13C12-PCB 118 2,3,7,8-13C12-TCDF 13C12-PCB 123 1,2,3,7,8-13C12-PeCDF 13C12-PCB 156 2,3,4,7,8-13C12-PeCDF 13C12-PCB 157 1,2,3,4,7,8-13C12-HxCDF 13C12-PCB 167 1,2,3,6,7,8-13C12-HxCDF 13C12-PCB 189 2,3,4,6,7,8-13C12-HxCDF
1,2,3,7,8,9-13C12-HxCDF
1,2,3,4,6,7,8-13C12-HpCDF
1,2,3,4,7,8,9-13C12-HpCDF
13C12-OCDF
2) Kuderna Danish is an example of a suitable product available commercially. This information is given for the convenience of users of this document and does not constitute an endorsement by CEN of this product. SIST EN 16190:2019
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